Definition of a Hero
by Karategurl13
Summary: During a day in New York, Steve wonders if being Captain America is really worth it.


This popped into my head last night and I can't stop thinking about it, so here it is.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters below except for Angelita.

Steve panted as he ran around a park in Harlem for the 20th time two hours. It was a pretty big park. He was just now starting to break a sweat. Bruce had ordered him to take it easy for awhile, but he brushed him off. He was too caught up in his thoughts to just stay on his butt. The mission was supposed to be simple. All they had to do was check out a lead about a possible Hydra base in Bosnia. However, the people there didn't take too kindly to the 'freaks of nature' being there and refused to move when they tried to clear the area. Not only had the Hydra agents escaped, but they set up a bomb inside that would've blown up an entire city. Thor (thank God) ended up shooting it into the sky just in time before it went off. To say Steve was pissed would be an understatement. It was as if they were more of a nuisance to society than a protectors of it.

The super soldier sat down on the grass and too a huge swig of water. "Sometimes I wonder why I keep doing this? The world's not going to change. For every bad guys we stop.. three more follow," Cap muttered under his breath.

He fell back on the grass and sighed. It was such a perfect day outside, it should've been a crime that Steve wasn't enjoying it. Sometimes he wondered if they should've pulled him out of the ice that day. At least things were easier back where he was from. No aliens or giant space ships to deal with.

Tired of laying on his back, Steve got up and walked towards a nearby restaurant. If he couldn't exhaust himself out of this, then he would distract himself by drawing. New York had a beautiful scenery in the summer. Cap was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't notice the small figure in front of him until his leg hit it. Steve looked down and saw a small girl, 7 or 8, possibly 9 years old. She blew strands of blond hair out of her brown eyes.

"Sorry little girl, I didn't see you down there," Cap said, bending down to her level.

She gave him a smile, revealing her two missing front teeth. "That's alright. I'm Angelita."

"That's a pretty name. My name's Steve - Steve Rodgers."

Angelita's eyes widened clutched the bookbag in her hand. "Steve Rodgers- as in Captain America?"

The soldier nodded giving her a genuine smile. Her brown eyes lit up and she started bouncing up and down. This must've been the first time she had met a superhero before. The girl unzipped her bag and pulled out a Captain America themed bear. It even had its own little shield. It was too adorable for words, but he would never tell Tony about it. He would never live it down. Worse, the genius would probably buy a couple just to place around the tower and bug him.

"I see you're a fan."

"The biggest- the biggest fan you'll ever have!"

 _Well I think Phil has you beat on that one._ He didn't say that out loud though. He just smiled and patted her head. That's when he noticed her eyes had shifted down to the ground and she was kicking her foot back and back. Steve lifted her head up and as if reading her mind said, "You want me to sign him don't you?"

Angelita's eyes shined even brighter than before and nodded- so much so that he was afraid she'd turn into a human bobblehead. The soldier scribbled his name on the bear's shield and handed it back to its owner. The little girl seemed to glow with joy. It warmed Steve old heart. Maybe this wasn't such a crappy day after all.

Steve snapped out of it by the girl pulling on his pants leg. "Can you take me to see my mommy and daddy?"

"Sure thing. Where are they?"

"Over there." Her little finger pointed to the hospital just a few blocks away.

Cap swept the little girl off her feet. "Let's go then."

The two blonds carried on their way, Steve letting her talk his ear off about why he was her favorite hero. He would be lying if he didn't say it made him like Tony for a second. Once inside the building, people started taking pictures, nurses spruced up their makeup, and Cap just tried his best to ignore it all. After all, he hated being the center of attention his beyond awkward performances in the 40s. He really wished he could destroy all of those old tapes, but someone (Tony) would find a way to bug him with them.

"So where are your parents?" He asked, placing her on the floor.

"On the third floor. They work in he-mo-to-logy."

Seeing as the elevators were out of service, the stairs were his only option. He didn't mind. He kind of hated elevators. Every time he would step out of one, his head would start spinning. The grey stairwell was old and rusty- way different from polished hospital.

"So how did you get away from your parents?"

"I was sleeping in my room with Captain Teddy here and when I woke up there was this man in my room. He wanted to take me away so I got scared and ran. I didn't know where else to go, so I went to the park and teddy kept me safe. He's my hero."

Steve didn't know what to think of her story. Was she an attempted kidnapping victim? Or possible witness to something? Not wanting to scare her, he gave her a fake scoffed expression. "I thought I was your hero."

She giggled, sounding like little bells to his ears. "You're my real hero, dummy." She leaned in close, as if telling him a secret. "Teddy's not real."

He gasped. "You don't say. Well-"

The ground beneath their feet shook and dust fell on their heads. Angelita clutched Steve's neck for dear life. "Steve, what's going on?"

"Don't worry sweetheart. Everything's going to be just fine. Now hold on."

Captain America rushed up the stairs, trying not to stumble on his way up. Doctors and nurses rushed past him, but all he was focused on was the little girl in his hands. Her cries were the only thing keeping him going. They were almost to the top of the staircase when the whole thing gave out from beneath them. The hero wrapped his arms around Angelita, taking the full force of the blow.

Steve was dazed, his head spinning in circles and his eyes seeing colors that didn't exist. He could feel something poking his arm, but he couldn't respond or move. It was only a small hand over his heart that brought him out of his state. His body ached all over and he was slightly afraid to move. Angelita was snuggled into his chest, crying her little eyes out. Just above them was the fallen stairwell. It blocked the light, making it almost completely dark.

"An-ange-lita, are you alright?"

She nodded and then gasped. "Your arm's hurt."

Cap looked over and saw what she was talking about. His arm was twisted in the wrong direction and the bone was sticking out of his arm. That would take a long time to heal. Steve put on a pained smile and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Don't cry sweetheart. I'll be just fine."

Her lip quivered and she hugged her bear to his chest.. Her white dress was now brown from the dust and dirt. "But what if you die? I'll be all alone again and p-people will be m-mad at me cause I let Captain America die."

Cap shot up, wished his body screamed against, but he didn't care. He wrapped his arms around the little girl and hushed her. "Sweetheart, I'm not going to die. Remember, I survived World War 2 so a broken arm will be no problem. Besides, nobody will be mad at you because I died saving you."

She wiped tears from her eyes. "W-why not?"

"Because I'm Captain America- a soldier, a hero, an Avenger. Saving little girls like you is what I do. It's my job and I'd die a thousand times just to let you see another day."

Steve thought he may've went too deep since she didn't say anything, but a smile came over Angelita's face and she kissed his cheek. "Is it still ok for me to be scared?"

"Sure it is, but I will protect you. I'll even tell you a little secret."

She leaned close. "I get scared too."

The blond gasped. "Really? But you're a big, brave superhero."

"I wasn't always this way. Let me tell you a story."

* * *

Steve slowly opened his eyes, the light making his head hurt. He moved his hand to cover his face and saw that there are a red, white and blue cast on it. Once he was fully adjusted to the light, Cap saw that he was in the medical unit. The steady beeping of his heart monitor was starting to annoy the heck out of him.

"Morning sleeping beauty," Tony said, giving Steve a cup of water.

"W-what happened?"

"We found you at the bottom of a stairway at a hospital. Apparently there was a hidden bomb in there from the Battle of New York that never went off. Luckily not many people were hurt. You were the worst. I guess a compound fracture was more than your super soldier could handle."

Steve sighed and flopped back on his pillow. "Don't worry Captain. The serum in your blood will speed up your healing so you should be good to go in two to three days." Bruce adjusted his IV. The scientist looked down at Steve's cup and sighed.

"Tony, why did you give him gin?"

Cap bucked his eyes and Tony shrugged his shoulders. "I wanted to see what would happen."

"You do know I can't get drunk right?"

The genius' eyes turned to slits and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'll fix that."

Bruce sighed and shook his head. "You are such a child."

The soldier shot up startling the two scientists. "Where is she?"

"Where's who?"

"Angelita- she was with me?"

Bruce gave him a puzzled looked and Tony shrugged his soldiers. "I have no idea what you're talking about. We just found you and two other guys in the stairwell."

Steve looked at them, trying to see if they were playing a joke on him. "What are talking about? There was a little girl named Angelita on top of me. She had a Captain America teddybear."

Tony glanced at Bruce, taking a few steps back. "Are you sure he didn't hit his head on the way down?"

"I'm not crazy! She was there! Her parents work at that hospital on the third floor. People saw me with her." Steve's head was spinning. This was not happening. Did somebody take her while he was asleep?

"Of course you're not Steve." Bruce grabbed a syringe of the counter. "I'm just gonna give you something to calm you down."

Steve shot out of bed, ripping out his IV. "NO! I need to find her!" Cap ran out of the room, Tony yelling after him. The Captain didn't get very far because Thor blocked his way.

"Captain, you are quite injured, you must rest."

Tony and Bruce walked behind him slowly with Natasha as backup.

"Thor, move. I need to find Angelita."

Nat scrunched her eyebrows. "Angelita? That means angel in Spanish."

"Yeah, so what?"

The spy pulled out her phone, her fingers clicking rapidly on the screen. It wasn't long before she came across what she was looking for. Nat stepped towards the soldier and showed him a picture of a little girl with blond hair and a Captain America teddy bear. A smile spread over his face.

"That's her. That's Angelita."

The spy sighed and put a hand on Steve's shoulder. "Steve, Angelita died 3 years ago."

Steve's heart dropped into his stomach and possibly lower. "What?"

"She died in her sleep there from an anesthesia overdose. That wing you were headed to was nicknamed the Angel wing after her. Today's actually the anniversary of her death."

Cap swayed on his feet and fell into Thor's arms, unable to stand on his own. The soldier started to hyperventilate, freaking everyone out. She- she seemed so real. He felt her tears on his neck. The heat of her hand against his chest. Did he really see an angel? He had heard stories of people encountering them, but he never thought they could be true.

"Tony, I think I'll take that gin now."

The billionaire laughed both of amusement and fear because Captain America just made a joke- somewhat. Thor helped Cap to his feet and helped him down the hall with Nat on the other side of him.

"He looks like he saw a ghost."

"Or an angel."

Tony rolled his eyes and sipped his drink. "Whatever."

"I wouldn't be so dismissive Tony. I did find this in his pants pockets when I changed his clothes."

The scientist handed Tony a small Captain America shield that looked like it was for a toy. Written on it in childish handwriting was - 'Thank you for saving me -Angelita'

 **Please review!**


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